Free Form Notation
I'm submitting to "Feature Request" as I don't think my needs are supported. I just downloaded the program and don't know all the available features - so if this request is supported, please tell me how, or where to look to find out how to do it.
I'm a songwriter who is not very adept at notation. Nevertheless, I find a need to notate my music, especially when it comes to arranging virtual instruments. When I write a song, I sometimes don't know what time signature should be applied. Additionally, I find that I often employ mixed meter so a specific time signature in a verse may not apply to the chorus. Sometimes, I might add time or take some away from a measure. I usually know what key I am in, but at times I might modulate. What this all boils down to is that I am unable to correctly select notes of a given duration and often I don't know where the bar lines are.
My standard approach is to just identify the pitch values of a given part (I usually start with the melody) and I just put dots on the staff to indicate the pitch and the sequence. I'll then go through the tune and try to identify the downbeats. Looking at the pattern of downbeats and intervening dots I can usually determine the dominant time signature section by section. Finding measures there are out of time is usually not too difficult after this point. Once I have the time signature, I can go back through the line and determine note duration. At this point I'll assign values to my string of pitch values and draw in the bar lines according to the meter.
I'm looking for some way of carrying out this process using Musescore. There seems to be no way of looking at it as blank sheet of manuscript paper. All the decisions about time and key must be made ahead of time. One seems to have to know the note duration when it is entered to the score. Is there a way to satisfy my needs, or should I just stick with pencil and paper?
Comments
While there might be ways of kind fo faking this, frankly, I'd say, stick to pencil for working out the rhythms, then once you have it worked ut, use MureScore to notate it beautifully.
In reply to While there might be ways of… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for the prompt and frank answer.
Sometimes working out rhythm/duration may require actually hearing it - either by performing on a real instrument, or by using MuseScore's playback feature .
Since pencil and paper do not provide any playback facility, and based on what you wrote earlier, here's my 2¢...
Regarding what you term "Free Form Notation" see:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/note-input-modes#timewise
https://musescore.org/en/node/293098#comment-938853
You wrote:
My standard approach is to just identify the pitch values of a given part (I usually start with the melody) and I just put dots on the staff to indicate the pitch and the sequence.
Well, you can enter notes without meter - then identify and mark phrases (or downbeats) to determine the meter / time signature - something like this:
![Features1.png]( "Features1.png")
Here's the actual MuseScore file (to experiment with):
Free_Form.mscz
You wrote:
![Features2.png]( "Features2.png")
Once I have the time signature, I can go back through the line and determine note duration.
With the Free Form score opened, a second score for actual notation can be created and viewed side-by-side:
The score on the right is used as a guide to enter notation, using reference points (phrases, beats, whatever).
Here's the actual MuseScore notation file (maybe try to complete it.:
Notation.mscz
To view two MuseScore files side-by-side, see:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/viewing-and-navigation#display
Regards.
PS: The note insert input mode (timewise) is a relatively new feature. There has been talk over the years of creating some sort of 'scratch pad' note entry. This seems like a step in that direction.
In reply to Sometimes working out rhythm… by Jm6stringer
Let me add some more feedback here. This is a highly pertinent request. For composing purposes, sometimes we need to stray a bit from the music conventions when it comes to writing down stuff, for whatever reason only the composer will know at first. A "free mode" input would definitely help a lot in this regard.
By "free mode" I imagine something that would feel like Windows' old Paintbrush, but allowing us to use the standard palettes. Also, In "free mode", any rhythm constraint would be simply ignored, allowing the user to draw whatever note types they wish anywhere.
"Free mode" would have a con, however: there would be no way to create a MIDI file out of a score made in "free mode" since it would be really more like a drawing than a mathematically precise map of time, pitches, automations etc (what a MIDI file is, actually). For composers who only wish to have a visual, printable score, the MIDI file isn't really a big deal.
This is one of the reasons I still use the older Encore music notation software for a specific type of work. In encore, one can just disable the "Auto Space" option and paint almost freely. Encore also have a "graphic" palette for us to draw circles and squares, which are handy sometimes.
That being said, take care.
In reply to Let me add some more… by Gaspar Caon
It's not clear what kind of music you are trying to create, but you can certainly place note shapes anywhere you want, using the Symbols palette, and also use Tools / Join Select Measures to create measures as long as you like, etc. If you describe in more detail what end result you are trying to achieve, we can show you the most efficient way to get there.
I've been looking for something like that for a while! I wonder if a kind of free form could be implemented by an "Insert mode". I think this could solve it and maybe easier to implement?
In such an "Insert mode", if we could insert note instead of overwriting the silences. We could also change the duration of a note, and instead of overwriting the following notes, it would move them aside with the given new duration. So for example, if we have 2 quarter notes, by changing the first one for a half note, we would get a half note and a quarter note.
That would be so useful when composing (I can't compose on paper), experimenting with variations or when making an error while transcribing music.
In reply to I've been looking for… by vgStef
Handbook about "Alternative note input methods":
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/alternative-note-input-methods
and especially Insert Mode:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/alternative-note-input-methods#inse…